I walked into my studio last night and decided I was going to just play and do whatever struck my fancy. I’d been wanting to make an autumn card using the Grateful for You stamp from the Merry Everything set; so, choosing my image was easy. Next stop was my DSP file; I leafed through the paper until I heard a couple of sheets “calling my name!” I really like the way these two pieces from the Color Me Autumn set complement one another. But, hmmm, the Retrosketch I had chosen for my layout seemed to lend itself to 3 different DSPs. After a couple of seconds, I realized I could use the same DSP on the right, simply by changing the direction of the pattern; the top piece has the diamonds going horizontally, while the bottom piece has the diamonds in a vertical direction. Okay, so I had my image and my paper chosen; but, none of the ribbon on my shelf seemed to work. So, I reached for my ribbon jar. Yes, I have a ribbon jar! All my scrap pieces of ribbon look beautiful in my apothecary styled jar! But, I digress. As I fingered through the ribbon scraps I saw a glimmer of gold – “Ahh, perfect!” The ribbon selection then led me to the new gold metal buttons. A loose shimmery strand from the gold baker’s twine was lying on my desk and seemed to say, “Use me, use me!” Sooo, all my decisions were made; now for the fun of putting it all together! I used the glowing technique once again and was quite pleased with the effect it gave to this stamp. Once I had the card assembled, I felt it needed just a little something more. I remembered my old Creative Memories leaf punch and decided that would offer the festive finishing touch I desired!

Out in the Woods is this week’s SUO challenge, which gave me the perfect opportunity to finally ink up my Ornamental Pine stamp. I’ve got to say, I really, really like this new set; in addition to the pine code, there is also a beautiful Christmas ornament included with the stamps. I’m having a lot of fun playing with this set! I’m thoroughly enjoying the Mossy Meadow color for my autumn cards and am even happy with it for Christmas themed cards. This card was a simple layout using the new Under the Tree DSP (I love the weight of this paper!) I wanted to tie in the Chocolate Chip color with my greeting; so, I punched a Chocolate Chip circle and laid it behind the greeting for a splash of accent. The candy dots are not a perfect match for the Mossy Meadow CS; but, in person the colors are so similar that not man y people would catch the difference. Wherever you are today, I hope that you’re enjoying God’s handiwork of a beautiful fall day!

Do you ever hit a “block” with your creativity? You know, a time where you sit down to make a card or a scrapbook page and absolutely nothing you do “works?!” I hit one of those blocks this weekend, as I was trying to complete my fall colored entry for SUO’s challenge. Despite the great ideas in my mind; nothing, but, nothing, was coming together on paper. Finally, I pulled up my Inspiration File and started scrolling through the various ideas I’ve saved for just such a time. In my quest for inspiration, I once again watched Susan Campfield’s tutorial on a “glowing” Magnificent Maple. After watching the video I decided to give it a try. Inking up the image was fun; but, then I was faced with how I wanted to mount the image and once again my creative juices would not flow. I turned the lights off and left my studio, determined a good night’s rest would help. Early the next morning, I revisited the card and decided to gold emboss a Magnificent Maple leaf and attach it in such a way that it looked like it was drifting to the ground. Ahhh, I was finally pleased enough to declare the card “finished!” So, what do you do when you face a creativity block? I’d love to hear from you.

While I was away at the beach my new SU order arrived, which meant my Bootiful Occasions stamp set was waiting for me when I returned home. Since discovering the bandana technique earlier this month, I’ve been eager to get my hands on the Bootiful Occasions cowboy boot and see how I could use the boot with the technique. This week’s Retrosketch Challenge provided me with the layout and from there the card just flowed together — I love when everything falls smoothly into place! The Hardwood background stamp inked with Soft Suede and stamped onto Crumb Cake offered a rustic background to showcase the images. Once again I used Daydream Medallions and Madison Avenue for the bandana effect and then just doodled with a white gel pen around the black images. The boot was colored with the Skin Tone Blendabilities and highlighted with Soft Suede. A few loops of linen thread added a cowboy-ish finishing touch! This was honestly a very quick and easy card!

My family and I enjoyed a wonderful time in Ocean City Beach last week; I LOVE having all my kids and their partners together under one roof for an extended period of time (be sure to check out the picture below)! We arrived back in PA on Saturday and the first thought that entered my mind when I got out of the car was, “Fall arrived while we were gone! Brrrr!!” With the change of temperatures, I automatically reached for my Fall stamps once I got back into my studio. I used the Friday Mashup challenge for my layout, incorporating leaves into the sketch design for the Mashup. To create the background, I stamped the Lovely as a Tree oak leaves onto the Cajun Craze Colour Me Autumn DSP with Versamark, then sprinkled on some clear embossing powder and heat set it.

To provide a two tone effect, I sponged Old Olive over the DSP matte and then wiped the ink off the embossed surfaces. I was pleased with the subtle Fall background it provided for the Season of Thanks image. A simple linen bow topped with a natural button (colored with a Blendabilities marker) provided the finishing touch.
STAMPIN UP STAMP(S): Season of Thanks, Lovely as a Tree, Express Yourself
STAMPIN UP INK: Early Espresso, Cajun Craze, Old Olive, Tangelo Twist, Tangerine Tango, Crushed Curry, So Saffron Soft Suede, Blackberry Bliss, Sahara Sand
STAMPIN UP CARDSTOCK/DSP: Crushed Curry, Old Olive, Cajun Craze, Very Vanilla, Colour Me Autumn DSP
ACCESSORIES: Deco Label framelits, Word Window punch, Natural button, natural linen thread, clear embossing powder, heat tool, sponge, dimensionals, glue dot

As promised, here’s a picture of my family after celebrating my birthday in Ocean City; I am SO blessed!

The calendar page has turned to September; wow, summer flew by SO quickly! With the fall months arriving and my new DSP In hand, I decided it was time to design a new quilt card. I selected one of my favorite layouts and 3 different patterns from the Flashback DSP pack. This week’s SUO challenge is to highlight at least one of SU’s wonderful embellishments. I chose one of the Vintage brads as my featured embellishment.

To make the card, I punched 1” squares from the DSPpaper. Then I cut a piece of 4×4 Very Vanilla which I proceeded to cover with double sided tape. Next, I laid out the squares (which were cut in half diagonally to form triangles) onto the adhesive, and then embossed the fully mounted piece with the Baroque EF. After mounting the image onto the various mattes, I poked a hole with the paper piercer into the middle of the “quilt” and also into the corners and then inserted the brads.

I’ve been thoroughly enjoying trying many new [to me] techniques that I’ve found on my various cyber wanderings. I saw this technique implemented by Paula Dobson and just had to give it a try! ColourQ’s Challenge provided me with the palette, so I was able to jump right in and start inking! I randomly sponged Bermuda Bay, Strawberry Slush and Lucky Limeade onto a piece of Whisper White. Next, I lightly spritzed the inside of my Modern Mosaic embossing folder and then pressed the folder against my inked panel (I did not run it through the big shot). After the panel dried, I stamped my image with Night of Navy. A few rhinestones added all that was needed to complete the image. I did run my background base through the big shot using the Modern Mosaic EF, just to add some texture. This was a really fun and easy technique; I’ll definitely be sharing it in one of my upcoming technique classes!